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If you're ever in town for a game, you should try making the short drive north to Knickerbacker Park. You'll see the baseball field that they used to play on (or, at least, the general area that it was located in), but the field was located in the park almost where it is now. Just beyond center field is a monument with some history about the team, along with a list of all major leaguers from Troy, whether they are in the HOF or not. Perhaps the most famous of which are Boo King, Michael Kelly, and the middle portion of the most famous double play combination in the history of the game, Johnny Evers.
I did.
Back in the day I remember talking to some old-timers in my hometown of Saugerties. They would tell me of when the NY Giants & the great Christy Mathewson would stop in Saug. on their barnstorming tour. The field was where the current Thruway Southbound Exit is now. I remember asking why would they come here?.....”because it was on their way from where they originally were from, Troy”. Now there’s your so-called “small market”.
) during the time of Boss Tweed and the big machine politics of that era. You should read "The Trial of Bat Shea," to get an accurate history of what Troy was like back in that time. If people took the time to appreciate the history and uniqueness of OGC (Our Great City) maybe we could get it back to the jewel of the Hudson that it once was.Legs Diamond was another “famous name” who would often frequent local establishments in Saugerties. 9W was the main road ATT & it goes through the center of the Village. Heard a lot of stories about his many stop-overs. A goldmine of history to sit and listen to “Old Timers”......as long as you were buyingThere was a time when Troy was the third largest city in the country. Around the time of the industrial revolution, when shirt collars ("Collar City") and iron and steel works were booming. It was also a big center of illegal activity. You had Mame Faye, owner of one of the biggest, ahem, entertainment venues for our military personnel going to and returning from the war. It is the home of Legs Diamond, who was gunned down by even bigger and tougher mobster than he was, and was an important stop for the mob in their transport of materials for a new gambling mecca out in the Nevada desert. You also had Bat Shea and Robert Ross, two of the central figures in a ballot-fixing ring (So I guess there is some history when Troy people stuff the ballet box for Hobey votes
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Wasn't it you who posted a while back that a relative was a mailman who delivered mail to Mame Faye?There was a time when Troy was the third largest city in the country. Around the time of the industrial revolution, when shirt collars ("Collar City") and iron and steel works were booming. It was also a big center of illegal activity. You had Mame Faye, owner of one of the biggest, ahem, entertainment venues for our military personnel going to and returning from the war. It is the home of Legs Diamond, who was gunned down by even bigger and tougher mobster than he was, and was an important stop for the mob in their transport of materials for a new gambling mecca out in the Nevada desert. You also had Bat Shea and Robert Ross, two of the central figures in a ballot-fixing ring (So I guess there is some history when Troy people stuff the ballet box for Hobey votes
Wasn't it you who posted a while back that a relative was a mailman who delivered mail to Mame Faye?
Edit: I just looked. It was your grandfather.
Love you Papa.
Yeah, not to toot my own horn (though I certainly would if I could-David Letterman) but my grandfather was also kinda popular in his own right. After coming home from the war, started his own restaurant, The Viaduct Bar and Grill, involved in the post office and postal union for 50 years, founder of the youth Pop Warner program to which I am still involved in today, founder and organizer of Troy's Memorial Day and Uncle Sam Day Parade, former mayor, etc...Not to mention, a paratrooper on Iwo Jima who got his ear shot off and left for dead. He spent nine months recovering in a German hospital. He was the first inductee into the New York State Veterans Hall of Fame, among other achievements. He was a very, very good man and a great grandfather. His death in 2007 hit me hard, but it was a great life. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.